The New Robocop

Recently, a draft of the screenplay by Josh Zetumer and Nick Schenk was leaked onto the Internet, which revealed that there would be numerous versions of RoboCop as OmniCorp refined their design, so while I doubt this will be the only RoboCop suit you see Kinnaman in; I think this is probably the final, combat-ready design.

The design of the suit is obviously influenced by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, as well as Iron Man and Michael Bay’s Transformers series with a hint of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Guyver (yes, the 1991 Mark Hamill vehicle) thrown in for good measure.

Rob Bottin’s original design for Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 RoboCop was a work of simple, practical elegance. RoboCop was very much a product of Detroit’s automotive industry – a bulky metal frame with an icy blue paint job. This version of RoboCop has a sleek, matte black style that looks more like kevlar body armor than Detroit steel. If you look closely, you can see the outline of RoboCop’s signature visor underneath the larger flip-up shield – similar to the human skull under the Xenomorph’s carapace in Alien.

I’ll be honest, while this new design isn’t nearly as iconic at Rob Bottin’s, it certainly is appealing to the eye, even if it does feel rather derivative. At this point, I’m more concerned with the script, which was recently reviewed by Latino Review’s Da7e. Hopefully the script Da7e and others have read is woefully outdated and has been replaced altogether by a screenplay that is somewhat bearable.

RoboCop co-stars Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, and Jay Baruchel. The film, which is produced by Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, and Bill Carraro, will hit theaters on August 9, 2013.